If you’ve read my other posts about Honey Creek, the setting for my book, Shades of the Future, you’ll know there’s a popular diner called The White Cottage Restaurant where everyone goes to eat home style meals with a generous helping of town gossip.

The restaurant is owned by one Bess Beale, a woman with a magic touch around food. This recipe is one of her winter concoctions, and in this snippet from Shades of the Future, she brings it as a dessert for game night.

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Mariah’s doorbell rang early that evening, a little before seven o’clock.

Bess walked in carrying a huge chocolate cake on a platter. She was the official dessert maven for game nights, since she had them already made at the restaurant.

“I come bearing my newest concoction. I’m calling it, Nothing Beats Chocolate Beet Cake.” She swooshed by Mariah’s grandmother Nancy into the kitchen and proudly placed it on the island counter.

“Chocolate what cake? Whatever in God’s green earth would inspire you to think chocolate and beets go together?” Nancy leaned in to see if she could see any red or purple lumps in the frosting.

“Don’t knock it till you try it. The beets make it moist.”

“She’s right, Grandma. Hayley and I tried it at the restaurant after school last week and it’s tastylicious.” Mariah pulled some plates out of the cupboard and set them next to the cake.

Nancy crinkled her nose.

“Not only is it…tastylicious, to use Mariah’s word, but it’s healthy for you,” Bess agreed. “Dark chocolate and beets are full of polyphenols and all those good things for your heart.”

“My heart is perfectly healthy.”

“Then keep it that way by eating this cake.”

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I’m sharing this recipe with you now so you can see for yourself it truly is delicious. It’s also included at the end of the book. Let me know how it turns out. I hope you enjoy it.

 

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to dust the pans
• 2 medium beets, boiled till tender then cooled and peeled (You may also use a cup of cooked beets from a can.)
• 2 sticks of real butter, unsalted
• 2 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 squares of dark baking chocolate 
• 2 1/2 cups of enriched flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• Crisco butter flavored shortening, or extra butter for the pans
• Parchment paper

1. Butter two 9 inch cake pans with Crisco or butter.
2. Cut circles of the parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the cake pans. Or better yet, try using pre-cut 9-inch rounds from Regency. How cool are those?
3. Lay the cut out circles in the pans and butter the parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle cocoa powder over the pans and shake to knock out the excess powder.
5. Set the pans aside and preheat the oven to 355 degrees.
6. Puree the cooked and cooled beets with a ricer or food processor. Measure two cups.
7. Soften the butter in the microwave till it can be mixed with the sugar.
8. With a hand mixer, blend the butter and sugar on high speed till fluffy.
9. Continue blending and add the eggs, one at a time.
10. On low speed, blend in the beets and vanilla.
11. Melt the baking chocolate in the microwave by heating 20 seconds, then stirring, and repeating until it is creamy.
12. Add the chocolate to the mixture and blend.
13. In another bowl, mix the cocoa, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
14. I used a sifter to make sure my cocoa powder was smooth.
15. One cup at a time, add the dry ingredients to the beet mixture, blending well after each addition.
16. Place the batter in the two pans.
17. Bake 40-45 minutes. The cake is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Now on to the frosting for the Chocolate Beet Cake!

• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups of powdered confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup of powdered cocoa
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

This frosting recipe made just enough to frost the cake with barely enough left over to lick the spoon before washing it. Perfect!

1. Mix together the wet ingredients.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients one cup at a time.
4. Frost the top of one layer.
5. Place the next layer on top and frost the top of it.
6. Frost the sides of the cake.
7. Use the rest of the frosting to fill in any thin areas. Thick frosting is yummy.

I can’t offer you a sample of the cake here on my blog, but I can offer you a sample of Shades of the Future. Send a blank email to shadesofthefuture {at} gmail {dot} com or stop by my Amazon author page to download a sample.

Happy baking, eating, and reading!